JOHOR BARU: A Sarawakian man is suspected of recruiting his wife and three friends for a trip to Japan, where all five were detained after more than 5kg of cocaine was found hidden in their shoes.
Federal Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said police believed the man had initiated the trip before his wife invited three friends to join them.
The five Malaysians were detained at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Oct 10 after Japanese authorities discovered the cocaine, estimated to be worth 120 million yen (RM3.1 million).
"We believe they were drug mules. Each was given a pair of shoes stuffed with drugs by the syndicate and promised RM8,000 to carry them," he told a press conference at the Johor police contingent headquarters.
Hussein said the group had travelled from Sarawak to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) before boarding a flight to Tokyo.
"We are not ruling out the possibility that all five knew the contraband they were carrying were linked to illegal activities.
The group had engaged a Kuala Lumpur-based travel agent to arrange the trip.
The agent was not detained and had returned to Malaysia, as police believed the agent was unaware of the smuggling attempt.
Checks found that none of the five had a previous criminal record.
Hussein said investigations were ongoing to determine whether they had travelled to other countries using the same modus operandi or had wider links to the drug syndicate.
He advised Malaysians to be cautious when accepting travel offers, particularly if they were asked to carry items such as shoes, bags or other equipment overseas.
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